A Shark Enthralled
by thomashailey67
Summary: Eddward struggles with his uncertain love for Kevin. Kevin is determined to pretend he doesn't have feelings for the high school's fastest swimmer. As time goes on, Eddward finds himself falling deeper and deeper. He just knows that there would be a happily ever after for them if the football star would just cooperate. I don't own any of the characters from Ed, Edd n Eddy or Nat.
1. Chapter 1

**May 7th**

'What is love?' Eddward muses to himself as he sits at the very center of the bleachers watching a certain red-headed quarterback dominate the field. 'Surely if I were in love, it would be obvious, would it not?' Sighing sadly, he drags his hand down the side of his face. He's been having this internal argument with himself since freshman year.

After the confrontation with Eddy's brother in the summer following their last year in middle school, a spark seemed to have been lit within the cul-de-sac's resident nerd. He decided that that was the last time he'd be pushed around by anyone, no matter how big or bad they think they are. That spark turned into a flame. He developed a competitive streak to rival the world's greatest Olympians, and completely reinvented himself.

While the other cul-de-sac kids took notice of their quiet friend's odd behavioral changes, he took notice of the very redhead he's watching right now. It didn't take long for Eddward to realize he's about as gay as they come. When he showed up to the Peach County High School, he immediately signed up for the swim and baseball teams. Halfway through the first semester, he came out as gay and dared anybody to say a word to him about it, then beat the first and only person to do so. Since it wasn't on school property and he was breaking one record after another, he didn't get in a bit of trouble for it.

It was on the baseball team that he and Kevin truly began to bond. Kevin was playing baseball and football, and was as amazing as Eddward was. What surprised everyone was that Eddy was better. By the end of the first semester it was widely known around the school that Eddy was the star pitcher, Eddward excelled at swimming, Kevin was the best quarterback the school had ever seen, and Ed was a godsend of a linebacker. Eddward was dubbed the Shark, and finished out freshman year the top of his class.

Sophomore year brought about some changes. Eddward and Kevin dropped baseball in favor of sticking to their other chosen sports. Eddy became the youngest baseball team captain the school had seen in years. Ed, with a bit of help from Eddward, managed to maintain a B+ average in all his classes. After his spot on the football team was locked into place, Kevin revealed to his peers that he was in a relationship with one Nat Goldberg, who had just moved to Peach Creek from New York, New York and was dominating the basketball court. Eddward's heart broke, but he continued to maintain his friendship with Kevin, and discovered that he quite liked the tall, flamboyant basketball superstar. Together, Kevin, Nat, and the three Eds were known as the Kings of Peach County, with the Nazz, the Queen, right beside them. Right before the end of their first semester as sophomores, Kevin and Nat had a mutual breakup. They just worked better as friends. There was no bickering or rude comments, they simply slid right into their old friendship, satisfied that they would never work as 'them.'

Second semester, they all made sure to attend every single game and meet that was had. Nazz was their best cheerleader. Records were kept, and once the coaches realized how much better their star players did when their cohorts were in attendance, games and meets were scheduled to allow for it. That year, the basketball, baseball, football, and swim teams all made it to their state championships and won. The celebrations lasted well into the summer.

Junior year brought about more changes. Eddward was made the captain of the swim team. Kevin was made the football team's captain, with Ed as co-captain, Nat was made the basketball team captain, and Eddy maintained his captainship and started dating Nazz. The coaches kept up their tendency to make sure games and meets were scheduled so that their stars could all attend, and it paid off.

So here they were: Kevin and Ed on the field, winning 42-7 against Lemon Brook, Nazz cheering her heart out, and Nat, Eddy, Eddward, and the rest of the cul-de-sac kids sitting in the bleachers. Eddward is still attempting to convince himself that he is not in love with Kevin Barr when said redhead makes a particularly spectacular touchdown and Eddward is out of his seat, roaring in happiness at the success of one of his closest friends. Nat shoots him a knowing grin, but Eddward is still screaming and doesn't notice in the least.


	2. Chapter 2

**May 8** **th**

Kevin throws his arm over the shoulders of his smartest friend as they walk toward the park at the end of Peach Lane. They were meeting up with Ed, Eddy, Nat, and Rolf for a friendly basketball game. Kevin glances over at Eddward and notices the bags under his eyes and his stiff posture, and remembers the yelling he had heard last night in the early hours of the morning, after the game had ended and everyone went to sleep. He sees the other man yawn and wonders whether to ask him about the incident, but before he decides they arrive at their destination. The others are already there and he removes his arm to jog ahead and tackle Nat. While Kevin is wrestling with Nat, Eddy is frowning at Eddward with a knowing look on his face. When he goes to ask Eddward about it, however, all he gets in answer is a tired shake of his head that indicates that the topic isn't up for discussion.

Eddward plays just as well as he always does, but anyone can tell that his heart just isn't in it. At the end of the game, when everyone else decides they want to grab lunch, he forces a smile and agrees. They head to a pizza place downtown called Luigi's. Everyone else orders, but Eddward just shakes his head. He sighs and heads toward the bathroom. He splashes water on his face, hoping it will wake him up a bit.

Meanwhile, Eddy and Nat are pushing Kevin to go check on Eddward. Since he wants to ask about the night before, he heads over to the bathroom. He pushes open the door and finds Eddward staring tiredly at one of the bathroom mirrors.

"Hey dude, you okay?" Kevin asks, his worry growing by the minute. Eddward looks like he's about to fall over where he's standing.

Eddward blinks and looks over at him, a bit of surprise showing on his face. He forces another smile and nods, "I'm fine, Kevin, thank you for asking. I just didn't sleep very well last night."

Kevin frowns. "Edd, we both know that ain't true. I heard yelling at your house last night. You know you can tell me about whatever's going on, right?"

Eddward sighs and eyes him for a few moments, evaluating his options…evaluating Kevin. He cracks his neck, then nods once. "We can talk at your place later, after lunch, I guess."

Kevin smiles, happy Eddward trusts him.

-Later That Day-

Eddward isn't sure what possessed him to agree to this. Sure, Kevin is his friend, but what if he accidentally lets his feelings slip? It would ruin everything. Besides, he doesn't like to talk about his home life. But it's too late now, he's already agreed. Plus, if he were to be completely honest with himself, it would be nice not having to pretend with Kevin. Eddy and Ed had known about things to some extent for years. It is, after all, kind of hard to hide the fact that your parents are never home. Before he's ready for it, they reach Kevin's front door. Kevin pulls out his keys and unlocks his house, explaining that his mom is working a shift at the hospital and his dad had an important lunch meeting, so they have the house to themselves. He then leads Eddward to his bedroom and gestures for him to sit on the bed. Kevin closes and locks the door, then sits next to him.

At Kevin's expectant look, Eddward sighs and begins speaking, "I'm only telling you this because I've known you since we were kids, and I…I trust you."

Kevin suppresses the grin at being let in on such an important part of Eddward's life. He feels almost giddy.

"As you probably know," Eddward continues, "Mother and Father are never really home. They travel a lot and come home only when they must. What you don't know is that they fight. Often. They argue with each other constantly. They're both doctors, but they couldn't be any more different than the fields they each work in. Recently the fighting has gotten worse. Or perhaps they just come home more often. I'm not really sure. Last night…." he trails off, unsure of whether he really wants to continue or not.

"Hey, it's alright Edd, you don't have to say anymore," Kevin realizes that this is serious for Eddward, and he should do his best not to push him into saying anything before he's ready. So he smiles at him and says, "if you want, you can catch a nap over here. I have some Sunday chores to do anyway."

Eddward feels overwhelming relief at not having to admit what he had heard his parents screaming about, so he eagerly accepts, knowing that if he went home he'd just have to suffer another round of yelling anyway. He gives Kevin a weak smile and a 'thank you' and falls asleep almost immediately.


	3. Chapter 3

**May 8** **th** **2:00pm**

"Hey Edd?" Kevin pokes him. He's doing his best to wake him up gently. "Edd?"

"Whas't?" Eddward mumbles, not wanting to be woken from the wonderful dream he's having about—"Kevin?"

Kevin smiles, "Yeah dude, I'm done with my chores."

Eddward stretches leisurely in the bed, and Kevin is struck with the thought that it would be wonderful if he could see _that_ every morning. 'Wait…where did that come from? It must be because I'm worried about him, that's all.'

Eddward makes sure to stay laying on his belly. He has a bit of a problem and doesn't want Kevin to see it, considering it is his fault. He smiles sleepily at Kevin, "Would it bother you terribly to get me a glass of water?"

"'Course not dude, I'll be right back." Kevin smiles.

As soon as Kevin is no longer in the room, Eddward starts trying to think thoughts that will make his problem go away. Before that happens, Kevin is back. He shifts uncomfortably, rolls over, and sits up with the comforter across his lap. He takes the glass of water with a smile and drinks all of it. Kevin takes it with a smile and leaves the room again. Eddward hurriedly gets up and heads to the bathroom. He locks himself inside and does his best to get his erection to go away. It's just starting to work when Kevin returns to his room and all of his hard work is put to waste.

Kevin waits for a while and when Eddward doesn't come out, he knocks on the door and with concern obvious in his voice asks, "Edd? Are you alright?"

He hears a startled squeak, and his concern grows. "Edd, open up. I'm getting really worried." He tries the knob but it won't open. He frowns. "Edd?"

Eddward is panicking. He just knows that if Kevin sees him like this, he'll no longer want to be friends. He would hate him. That turns out to do the trick, because just the thought of Kevin's hatred directed at him has his dick deflating before you can say 'flaccid.'

Eddward takes just another moment to compose himself, and opens the bathroom door. He comes face to face with one Kevin Barr, and gives him a weak smile. "I'm sorry Kevin, I slept so well I completely forgot about last night…It hit me again while you were gone and I just needed to take a minute to regain my composure."

Kevin smiles, "It's all good dude, I was just kind of worried, you were in there for so long. We can talk about it if you want. If not, that's fine too. But you should know that I'm here for you."

Eddward gives him a very small, but completely genuine, smile. "I appreciate that Kevin. I don't think I really want to talk about it right now. However, I appreciate your concern."

Kevin grins, knowing he had made some headway with his Eddward because he didn't get some generic, super polite response. Whoa, _his_ Eddward? Where did that come from? "It's no problem man. I do have to finish my homework though, so do you want to grab your bag and join me on the bed?"

Eddward smiles, "I appreciate the offer, but I believe Eddy is also concerned and I wish to inform him that I am alright. Thank you, Kevin. I will be taking my leave now."

Kevin isn't sure what he said to send Eddward spiraling back into super-polite mode, but then realizes that his parents must be home, and he would need to go back to his house to get his bag. 'That must be it!' Kevin thinks to himself, but smiles and says, "Alright man, let me walk you to the door then."

When they reach the front door, Eddward hugs Kevin and brushes his lips against his cheek. He just couldn't help himself. It didn't appear as if Kevin noticed, though. He says his goodbyes, and head out.

Kevin watches Eddward head straight over to Eddy's place. He slowly raises his hand to his cheek and knows shock, awe, and delight are playing across his face. 'This has been a good day.' That night, Kevin Barr reevaluates his feelings for the tall boy with the beanie on his head.

Eddward hurries over to Eddy's house, knowing that his friend was probably worried sick. Eddy knew about his parents' fighting, their long absences, the neglect, some of the abuse, but he didn't know about last night. Because up until last night, neither did Eddward.

Eddy opens the door immediately. He grabs Eddward's arm and pulls him inside. They walk in silence to Eddy's bedroom, where Ed is waiting. Eddy points at a chair and Eddward silently sits. Eddy only says one word.

"Spill."

Eddward sighs and leans his head back, feeling as if he were about 80 years old. "Father has been unfaithful in his marriage to Mother. He has had a mistress for the past 20 years or so. Eddy, I have a brother and a sister."

 **A/N**

 _Just in case you're wondering, it's Sunday, May 8th 2011 and it's around the end of Junior year. Here are the ages of current important characters and their birthdays._

Eddward 17 Nov 21

Kevin 17 Jan 9

Eddy 16 May 30

Ed 18 Sept 24

Nazz 17 April 3


	4. Chapter 4

_"_ _Father has been unfaithful in his marriage to Mother. He has had a mistress for the past 20 years or so. Eddy, I have a brother and a sister."_

"Wow. Are you going to be able to meet them? How old are they?" Eddy asks immediately.

"Well, my sister is 16. My brother is 14. Their mother, Father's mistress, decided she was tired of raising them alone. She gave Father an ultimatum. Either he leaves Mother and comes to help her raise my brother and sister, or he must take them himself. He and Mother have been arguing for days. They don't want to split up, but Mother doesn't want to raise 'his bastard children.'" Eddward informs his two best friends tiredly.

Eddy shakes his head sadly, "The one they should be asking is you, considering you'll be the one watching them…How do you feel about all of this, Double D?"

Eddward sighs, "I'm worried about them. It's a painful feeling, not being wanted. And I want to meet them, I think."

Eddy frowns, "Why don't you tell them that?"

Eddward chuckles bitterly, "I can't speak past the screaming. Actually, I do need to go now. I might as well try to talk to them about it before they leave again."

That evening, Eddward walks into the kitchen of his own home to speak with his Mother and Father. "Mother, Father. I have something I would like to say, and if you would hear me out, I would be most grateful."

The two adults stop flinging heated words at each other long enough to eye him in confusion. Then, Father says, "Well spit it out then boy."

"I want to meet them," he blurts. The two stare at him in shocked silence. "I want to get to know them, and neither of you are really home enough to have to deal with them anyway. They're old enough to be home alone on the weekends. Please stop fighting."

After he finishes speaking, he chances a look at his parents, and finds that they're both scrutinizing him. Finally, Father speaks, "Alright boy. You take care of them, and I'll make sure that all the money I was sending to Mary will go to you instead, so you can take care of them and buy them whatever they need. If your Mother approves, that is."

Eddward recognizes the sound of dismissal at the end of the statement, so he returns to his room. His Mother and Father talk long into the night. Now that neither will have to stop working to support two strangers, there's no reason to argue. Their son can take care of the two of them, and when he turns 18, they can change everything over to him and leave the country, like they were planning to do before this unfortunate discovery was made.

Eddward sighs, he knows exactly what they're planning. He's heard them speaking of it since he was a very small boy. Truth be told, that was why he and the other Eds had tried scamming the cul-de-sac for years. Eddward has been squirreling away money since he was 5. He had been planning to sell the house once it was in his name, and move in with Eddy. That won't be possible now that he has two others to take care of. He concludes that night that he has to talk it over with his newly discovered siblings, and see what their lifestyle was like before. He'll be truthful with them, and most of the money Father sends will be put into an account his Mother and Father are unaware of. He has enough saved up that when they leave him with all of the responsibilities, and the house, he'll be fine for a few years.

Time passes quickly and before Eddward knows it, Saturday is upon him. Today is the day that he gets to meet his brother and sister. Mary is supposed to drop them off in 30 minutes and despite the circumstances, Eddward finds that he's very excited. He has a meal prepared, the guest rooms that will become their rooms are utterly spotless, and he can't wait to meet them. At exactly 12:30, the doorbell rings.

Eddward opens it with a smile and greets the woman at the door politely. She's about 5'4, has long brown hair, and beautiful green eyes. She smiles back, and he invites her inside. She enters the house, followed by a teenage girl that looks identical to her mother, aside from the fact that she's about 3 inches taller at about 5'7. The boy is as tall as Eddward himself, standing at around 5'10. He looks just like Father. Eddward greets both teens with a smile. He closes the front door and leads the trio into the sitting room. Once everyone is seated, he begins speaking, "I have prepared a meal, if any of you are hungry. For drinks, I have milk, Gatorade, and bottled water. If any of you need the restroom, it's the last hallway door before you reach the staircase."

Once everyone has visited the restroom, grabbed their food, and gotten comfortable, the woman begins to speak. "My name is Mary, in case they didn't tell you. This is Heather, and this is Ethan. Dear, may I ask, where are your parents?"

Eddward forces a smile, "My name is Eddward. You may call me Edd or Double D if you'd like, since there are two other Eds living in the cul-de-sac. They're at work, ma'am."

Mary frowns, "Are you left alone often?"

"Mother and Father don't come home much," he says simply, "but I have lifelong friends here whose parents check in on me regularly."

She nods to herself, "Ethan, Heather, please get your things out of the trunk of the car." The children get up and walk out of the door.

"Would you like to see the rooms they'll be staying in?" Eddward asks politely.

"Kid, you can drop the act, I know you've probably heard your Mother and Father talking. I doubt you like me. That's fine. You seem like a good kid, you've probably been left alone all your life, and you still seem perfectly functional. I don't want to do this, but your Father informed me that since Ethan is 14, he doesn't need to send money anymore. I can't support them on only my income, so I agreed to let Ethan and Heather move in here. I realize this is probably hard on you, but I hope you can come to love them as much as I do."

After her little speech, she lets her mask fall, and he sees how much this truly hurts the woman. He smiles at her and nods, "I'm actually very excited to get to know them. You know you're welcome to come and see them at any time, right?"

She blinks, apparently surprised, "Your father…."

"Isn't here enough to care." He states firmly.

"But what about your mother?" she asks.

"She'll get over it." He replies.

At that moment, the teens return with their things, and they all travel upstairs to see their rooms. "You can decorate them however you see fit." He informs them happily. He then indicates a door across the hall. "That's my room. Please knock before you enter, but feel free to do so any time you need me. My door will always be open, metaphorically. In addition, any messes you make in your own rooms, you will clean. I will clean everything else until you get used to the place."

The teens nod along, happy that they won't be part of some godawful Cinderella story. He gives the trio a tour of the house, and finally they return to the sitting room. It's 2:00 now, and Mary smiles sadly, "I have to be at work in a few hours, so I need to go. Kids, you have my phone number if you need anything. You know I love you."

They respond in kind, and Mary goes to leave, "Oh! Eddward, dear, come with me, I have some paperwork I need to give you."

He follows her out to her car and she hands him a briefcase, "This contains all of their information, birth certificates, everything. Please take care of them, and thank you for your hospitality." She kisses him on the cheek, gets into the car, and drives off.

'Well,' he thinks to himself, 'time to go make sure they haven't set the house on fire.'


End file.
